What’s Really Missing in the “Missing Middle”

We know exactly why there is a missing middle –
price point. The cost of land and construction is high, and a building
is more likely to get built – and more affordable for the end consumer –
if these costs are split between a high number
of housing units.

We also knew our submission for the City of
Edmonton’s Missing Middle Infill Design Competition needed to address
this price/affordability issue head on. We decided to ambitiously
confront the issue by bringing a non-profit housing developer
partner onto our team, the Right at Home Housing Society.

Our entry to the competition, ‘Connected Layers’ is
a creativity-forward, community-focused infill project that drives
positive interaction between people and the land, the climate, the
context and each other. The project is designed to
house a diverse mix of residents, including large families, single
parent families, seniors, young adults, and adults with disabilities.
The project would rent a quarter of the 38 housing units at below market
value. We were very disappointed when we learned
our entry was disqualified.

Part of the competition criteria was to submit a
pro forma with the assumed purchase price for the land at or near $1.7
million. We submitted this pro forma, despite the fact that it assumes
the land is already zoned to accommodate a four
storey building, which it is not. We also submitted an alternative pro
forma with a purchase price for the land that’s closer to reality – that
is, the price a developer might actually be willing to pay for the land
under the current zoning, and the price
at which we could provide a portion of the homes at an affordable rate.

Unfortunately, the City was confused by our
submission, so instead of being able to make a point about housing
cost/affordability, we were disqualified.

We do, however, believe that this is an exceptionally important conversation to be having in our City. So instead of seeing our submission displayed alongside the other competitors, we will host an alternate event to have a conversation about what we think is really missing in the current missing middle conversation: housing affordability. Please join us on May 30, 7pm at Café Lavi. Tickets available at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/salon-des-refuses-a-disqualified-presentation-and-panel-tickets-61827388383